On January 8, 2019, Sleater-Kinney hit the indie-rock world with the shock announcement that they were recording a new album. The news came by way of a picture that included the band - Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss - and St. Vincent (Annie Clark), who was listed as the record's producer. The inclusion of Clark, an artist that is part of the generation of indie-rock listeners that were deeply influenced by Sleater-Kinney, in a way felt like things coming full circle. The teachers were going to benefit from how they inspired the student.
Although she is a very talented guitarist who has released great albums, Clark's work almost never ventures into the no frills rock territory that Sleater-Kinney thrive in. Her recent projects, Masseduction in particular, have a pop sheen that Sleater-Kinney have never come close to. Even though No Cities To Love was a far cry from the relentless force of The Woods, it was still a rock record with vibrant vocals and ripping guitar riffs. The idea of St. Vincent producing a Sleater-Kinney album was an exciting prospect because it was hard to know exactly what to expect - except for one thing: change.
Sleater-Kinney had already gone through changes in sound. Early on, after the outgoing punk vibrancy of Dig Me Out, the band showed a different side of itself with the moody and intricate sections of The Hot Rock. Later in their career, the abrasive production and classic rock elements of The Woods was a significant departure from what came before. In these changes and others, Sleater-Kinney altered their sound but continued to be a rock band with an undeniable energy. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of The Center Won't Hold. The result of the Sleater-Kinney and St. Vincent collaboration is an album that is disappointingly middle of the road for the band's high standards.
Many of the defining features of Sleater-Kinney are absent here. Tucker's aggressive howl of a vocal delivery is mostly missing, replaced with something that is pleasant, but noticeably tame. There is also a surprising lack of interplay between Brownstein and Tucker. The juxtaposition between Tucker's wail and Brownstein's more straight ahead delivery is a core strength of the band, but it is never really featured here. Brownstein and Tucker did not write these songs together - and it shows. Weiss, who recently left the band due to them "heading in a new direction", is woefully underused to the point where one can see why she departed. The drumming lacks the verve of past albums. It is rarely forceful, and criminally for a drummer of Weiss' caliber, at times could even be accused of being a drum machine.
For all that there is to criticize in The Center Won't Hold, the album opens strongly. The title track is clear evidence that, even though this does not pan out in all of the album's runtime, Sleater-Kinney are capable of reinventing themselves in a great way. The industrial clang of "The Center Won't Hold" is nothing like the band's previous work. The song has an ominous darkness to it with a killer ending that easily makes it the album's best track. This is immediately followed by another one of the album's stronger tracks, "Hurry On Home". With its solid guitar riffs and longing, self deprecating lyrics from Brownstein, "Hurry On Home" is much closer to Sleater-Kinney of old than the opener. With a change in production style and input from Tucker, it could arguably fit in on No Cities To Love.
Sleater-Kinney had already gone through changes in sound. Early on, after the outgoing punk vibrancy of Dig Me Out, the band showed a different side of itself with the moody and intricate sections of The Hot Rock. Later in their career, the abrasive production and classic rock elements of The Woods was a significant departure from what came before. In these changes and others, Sleater-Kinney altered their sound but continued to be a rock band with an undeniable energy. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of The Center Won't Hold. The result of the Sleater-Kinney and St. Vincent collaboration is an album that is disappointingly middle of the road for the band's high standards.
Many of the defining features of Sleater-Kinney are absent here. Tucker's aggressive howl of a vocal delivery is mostly missing, replaced with something that is pleasant, but noticeably tame. There is also a surprising lack of interplay between Brownstein and Tucker. The juxtaposition between Tucker's wail and Brownstein's more straight ahead delivery is a core strength of the band, but it is never really featured here. Brownstein and Tucker did not write these songs together - and it shows. Weiss, who recently left the band due to them "heading in a new direction", is woefully underused to the point where one can see why she departed. The drumming lacks the verve of past albums. It is rarely forceful, and criminally for a drummer of Weiss' caliber, at times could even be accused of being a drum machine.
For all that there is to criticize in The Center Won't Hold, the album opens strongly. The title track is clear evidence that, even though this does not pan out in all of the album's runtime, Sleater-Kinney are capable of reinventing themselves in a great way. The industrial clang of "The Center Won't Hold" is nothing like the band's previous work. The song has an ominous darkness to it with a killer ending that easily makes it the album's best track. This is immediately followed by another one of the album's stronger tracks, "Hurry On Home". With its solid guitar riffs and longing, self deprecating lyrics from Brownstein, "Hurry On Home" is much closer to Sleater-Kinney of old than the opener. With a change in production style and input from Tucker, it could arguably fit in on No Cities To Love.
It could be viewed as admirable that the band has taken a risk by stepping out of their comfort zone, but the more tedious moments of the record suffer from things that would be out of place in the rest of the Sleater-Kinney catalogue. One example is the band's foray into post-punk territory, "The Future Is Here". Tucker's singing, which is much lower than normal, sounds fine, but the verse and chorus structure is extremely bland. On songs like "Bad Dance", the group comes off so sterilized and campy that if one didn't immediately recognize Brownstein's voice, they could easily mistake it for a completely different band. Earlier in the record, "Reach Out" is an adequate enough song, but the simple guitar line and synths of its verses fail to make any strong impression. It's a bit of a shock coming from a band whose last album had animated verse sections like those found on "Price Tag" and "A New Wave".
The Center Won't Hold is not terrible outside of the context of Sleater-Kinney's wonderful discography, but the record's toothless nature is jarring from such a lively rock band. Everything seems much too polished for a band like Sleater-Kinney. Even though St. Vincent has proven she can shine in a more pop-adjacent environment, this album gives a strong argument that the same does not apply to these indie-rock veterans. Here, instead of unique, a lot of the time the band feels generic. Maybe on future records Tucker and Brownstein will be able to put their singular stamp on this type of music, but right now this new direction feels like a swing and a miss.
The Center Won't Hold is not terrible outside of the context of Sleater-Kinney's wonderful discography, but the record's toothless nature is jarring from such a lively rock band. Everything seems much too polished for a band like Sleater-Kinney. Even though St. Vincent has proven she can shine in a more pop-adjacent environment, this album gives a strong argument that the same does not apply to these indie-rock veterans. Here, instead of unique, a lot of the time the band feels generic. Maybe on future records Tucker and Brownstein will be able to put their singular stamp on this type of music, but right now this new direction feels like a swing and a miss.
